In 2002, N.C. 148 was renamed the C.F. Harvey Parkway for Felix Harvey, the celebrated businessman who died earlier this year.

A planned connection of the highway and U.S. 70 started in late 2012 and was expected to be completed last year.

The project is still ongoing, but there is hope of it being finished before the summer.

Lenoir County Commissioner Eric Rouse said changes to the road and the winter played roles in the delay.

“The road was supposed to open last year, but what delayed it was the change in the order,” Rouse said. “The engineer wanted to construct a sound retaining wall and the subsequent construction took about six months. Then contract specifications in the project stated there could be no paving in the winter, which provided an additional delay.”

Rouse said he predicts the parkway — which is being worked on by Barnhill Contracting — will be accessible by Memorial Day.

“Now that the temperatures are warmer, they can put the final coat on the roads,” Rouse said. “They’re moving on schedule; it was the wall and cold weather preventing construction from happening.”

Kinston resident Terry Taylor said he hasn’t dealt with too much of a hassle living in the area, but the parkway construction has its inconveniences.

“The only thing that’s messed up about it is having to go to another intersection and go around to get around,” Taylor said. “It can especially be hard in the morning, because of the traffic. You used to be able to take a left (before the construction) and now, you have to go right, then go across to get to where you need to go.”

Another Kinston resident, Angela Taylor, said the traffic around Banks School Road is particularly bad.

“I wish they would get the parkway open soon,” Taylor said. “It’s hard to back out onto the road from my house.”

Hon Yeung, assistant resident engineer for the N.C. Department of Transportation in Greenville, said unforeseen circumstances delayed the plans.

“We had to put the time toward the revision of the noise wall, reducing the size and keeping the effectiveness,” Yeung said. “Some things that were not anticipated included the weather. This past winter it was extremely cold, and in the past month or two it had been extremely wet, which had an effect on the asphalt and concrete.

“Right now, we have to put on the last layer of asphalt on what we call the main line. After that, we’ll stripe the pavement, clean up and do some minor work after that. If the weather works out good for us, I cannot foresee an issue reaching our goal of having the parkway open by Memorial Day.”

Lenoir County Commissioner J. Mac Daughety said another section of the parkway — from N.C. 58 to N.C. 11 — will be constructed.

“It’s been submitted as a project for a statewide strategic funding formula,” Daughety said. “We have high hopes it will be funded, but there’s nothing definitive about the time or when funds would be available.”

Patrick Flanagan, planning director of the Eastern Carolina Council on Government, said the project is in the planning process.

“We expect the scores to be released sometime in the middle of May, and at that point, we’ll see how it rates with other projects in the region and state,” Flanagan said. “That’s the basis on whether or not the project competes for construction.”

Kinston Mayor B.J. Murphy said the most pressing need would be connecting U.S. 70 to N.C. 11 by the Ayden and Grifton area.

“This would open up freight transportation and a lot of opportunities for commerce, but what is crucial is the freeway loop connecting four cities in Eastern North Carolina — Greenville, Goldsboro, Kinston and Wilson,” Murphy said. “We can upgrade small sections of Highway 70 between Kinston and La Grange, and small sections of Highway 11 from the C.F. Harvey Parkway to Ayden. If there’s a way to control access in the loop, we should see tremendous growth in Eastern North Carolina.”

Junious Smith III can be reached at 252-559-1077 and Junious.Smith@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JuniousSmithIII.